My first apricot tree was a Blenheim. The first year all the cots were huge, like tennis ball size and so meaty. There were not many so we ate them fresh off the tree. Subsequent years were drought years and I did my best with watering with grey water, but the tree never produced like it did the first year. The MIL lived nearby and had a divine white peach tree. The peaches were heavy and would bring down the branches like crazy. Unfortunately the peaches were picked off frequently by the squirrels before they were approaching ripeness.
1 Like
My white peach tree is full this year. I just noticed and wish I had thought to water it. The fruit is tiny now. I think its too late. I know people with peach trees that have the squirrel problem. I have lots of squirrels but they never touch anything I grow. I think it is because I have enough things growing wild like hazelnuts and I think black walnuts that they must like better. They do make a mess in the garden hiding nuts everywhere.
I wonder if they sit there thinking, âI wish she would water the peach tree, then they would be worth eating.â
2 Likes
Yum!!! It look delicious!
Do you prune the curry leaf at all? Weâve had one for a few years that we bring inside for the New England winter; it survives but drops most of its leaves and starts growing from the top. So, itâs now quite tall with a long bare stem and leaves just at the very top. Iâd love to know how to keep it from getting taller and taller like this.
A year or two ago I had the same problem. It was basically an umbrella. I cut the main stem a lot shorter and it has branched out a lot. It loses a lot of leaves in winter here too. Am pretty sure I posted a picture here. Will have a look. First picture is when I chopped it and second is what came back.
1 Like
Thank you! Iâve always been scared that, if I chop off all the parts with leaves, the plant will just die. Good to know this isnât the case!
Would anyone know whatâs growing here? I though I planted bell peppers but my friend told me she is sure it isnât⌠
Google Lens seems to think itâs common verbena.
Can you get a close up of the flowers and a closeup of the he foliage?
Thank you, thats interesting.
Changing my answer! Based on the picture of the flower, Google lens now says Lepidium Sativum, or âGarden Cressâ.
Or maybe
Field pepperweed (Lepidium campestre)
I wonder if it got there as a random seed where you were intending to grow something else (aka a weed).
Thatâs fascinating. Thank you!! Is it ready to eat now?
Iâm recalling that the bell peppers seeds were out of date, maybe that could be the answer?
1 Like
I donât think so, but @bogman will know.
Thanks a lot for your time. Much appreciated!
1 Like
It looks like Lepidium campestre, Field Pepperweed to me. If so, itâs far beyond the edible leaf stage. The unripe, green pods are peppery, sort of like horseradish taste, as do mature seed pods. If the leaves on the flower stalks are shaped sort of like a spear point, and the lower, basal leaves are âfernyâ, L. campestre is most likely. The basal, lower leaves may have disappeared by this stage.
Lepidiums seed like crazy, so if its seed pods shatter, itâll be all over the place.
2 Likes
Wow! Thanks a lot for all the info 
1 Like
I had an apricot tree at our last house. Every year it bloomed and set a million fruit, not a single one of which ever made it even close to ripe. I planted it before I knew about chill hour requirements and had bought it at Target. I love apricots, and havenât had a good one from the store in decades. Is Blenheim a good variety for low chill hour locations? Youâve said that our climates tend to be similar.
I donât know if itâs described that way, but when this area was mostly orchards it was very popular. I think a late frost at the wrong time can be a problem. Of course most of the orchards have since been replaced with houses, they are hard to ship, and are said to be best eaten soon after picking, so of course I had to have one! 
I grow mine in a very large container which I think itâs outgrown, so I donât know how much longer it will last.
7 Likes
June!
DHâs strawberry project, about which I posted earlier, paid off in spades. We tried thinning the berries this year - cutting off small and deformed berries early - with good results. The elevated containers meant didnât have to break our backs to bend over and pick. Win-win!
Our lettuce is done, but weâre still getting peas, scallions, kale and broccolini. In the not-to-distant future are carrots, cukes, zuccs and blueberries. The tomatoes are setting, but have a long way to go.
6 Likes
Those are beautiful @MunchkinRedux !
I was more âintentionalâ about my grape pruning, and I may get more than one bunch! Iâm sure the rain and the cool spring helped too.
More tomatoes. I love how striped tomatoes look before they are ripe.
3 Likes
Something ate a lot of our grapes last year. Not as violent a scenario as @Sasha posted about last year, but each day we could see more and more had gone missing, until almost nothing was left. These are behind a fence. Weâre thinking it was bats. We were all set to bag the grapes this year, but itâs looking like a thin grape year for us.
3 Likes
